Shinobu Maehara is a girl going through troubling times. Her parents are going through a divorce, she has no friends and is moving away from Hinata. She has a chance encounter with Keitaro and ends up with his sketchbook which has drawings of her in it, smiling. After knowing what Shinobu was going through, Keitaro invites her to the apartment for a special going away party. When Shinobu's parents arrive at the apartment, Keitaro and the others hide her. After a brief talk on the roof where Keitaro appreciated Shinobu's cooking, she decided to tell her parents that she is going to stay at the apartment. Shinobu's parents reluctantly let her live at the Hinata Apartments, where Shinobu becomes the cook.